 |
|
|
|
Background
MyPoints.com is a leading provider of member-driven Internet direct marketing services. Its service features a
True Opt-inŽ database of more than 10 million members, and provides advertisers with an integrated suite of media
products including enhanced email and dynamically served web offers through which to target, acquire and retain
customers.
Situation
The MyPoints.com Web-based marketing model was so successful that the company was faced with a myriad of information
technology challenges including a weak survey system, lack of tools to process data and electronically exchange
data with business partners, and no real-time feedback on success of marketing campaigns, that were preventing
further growth. In addition, the company's original system could only support 100 concurrent users per server.
The new system needed to support at least 20,000 concurrent users per server. The company needed an immediate solution to break its growth paralysis.
Key Goals
- Develop a more robust web-based survey system
- Have the means to cleanse and transform incoming data into formats acceptable to business partners
- Create an infrastructure to electronically exchange data with business partners
- Develop a decision support system to provide real-time feedback on the success of marketing campaigns
Solution
SCG used leading edge Microsoft development tools and Distributed Network Architecture (DNA) to quickly
build and integrate information systems to address four solution imperatives:
- SCG re-architected the Web-system running on Windows 2000 and SQL Server for greater flexibility and scalability
- Data cleansing and transformation capabilities were developed using a combination of Microsoft Visual Basic and
Microsoft Data Transformation Services. Data was persisted in XML format to allow for efficient storage and manipulation
of diverse data structures
- Data was initially ported to business partners through the use of Data Transformation Services and FTP. In response to
MyPoints.com ever-growing data exchange needs, SCG migrated the company to a Microsoft BizTalk Server infrastructure
- Because same-day data analysis was imperative, SCG developed a data mart that was updated with information from a
Web-based OLTP system on 5-minute intervals. Using Visual Basic running as a service, data was migrated from the highly
normalized, relational structures and XML structures to a highly de-normalized relational structure in SQL Server.
Results
The business solutions developed by SCG provided MyPoints with the necessary foundation upon which to build a successful company. The scalable and flexible Web-based system allowed the company to quickly and confidently tackle new business opportunities. The data transformation and cleansing services, along with the electronic data exchange infrastructure, afforded MyPoints the ability to accommodate a wide array of business partner data requirements, making it the vendor of choice in the field. The decision support system provided MyPoints with timely feedback, allowing the company to optimize its business model and quickly adjust to changing market conditions.
|
|
|
|
|
| challenges |
|
|
|
|
web-based survey system |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
cleanse and transform incoming data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
increase concurrent users |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
electronically exchange data |
|
|
|
| technologies |
|
|
|
|
SQL Server |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Visual Basic |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Data Transformation Services |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BizTalk Server |
|
|
|
| results |
|
|
|
|
scalable and flexible |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
data cleansing |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
electronic data exchange |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
decision support |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
increased concurrent users to 20K |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
